Cheap Outdoors Light for the Masses?

Hi Guys,

I have been asked to give a talk to a group of church people going on a 50-mile hike. I would assume that many will be novices. I believe they will be acquiring most of their gear immediately before the hike, so budget is a major concern. I would like to recommend them a light.

They will be in the mountains for a week. The weather could be anything from blistering heat to constant rain. I am thinking CR123 batteries are out for budget/logistic considerations; think alkaline, probably AA is best.

Here are the criteria:

- water resistant/dunkable
- lightweight
- durable
- uses common batteries
- easily available (Wal-Mart is a good thing)
- loooong battery life
- resistant to turn-on in pack
- easy to find color (not essential)
- enough light for walking
- reliable (extra bulb in the light if incan)
- CHEAP


I don't know what they have to spend on the light, but I think it is in the $10 or less range. Not exactly a flashaholic's ideal budget, but that's the slot that needs to be filled.

Any suggestions?

Scott

Personal Recommendation: Mini-maglight with the Nite-Ize module. Can be had at wal-mart for @13$ and meets all your criteria in spades.

http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/niteize_mag3led.htm


Next, the Dorcy metal gear?

+Takes 3AAA Alkaline batteries
+Runtime is 4 hours to 50% (at that point as bright as a mini-maglite) and 10 hours to 25% (still bright enough for walking around, campsite work, reading, etc.)
+Good throw
+Dunkable
+Resistant to pack turn-on due to reverse clickie
+6oz. with batteries
+Includes pocket clip

-Cost (18$ may be too much)

Now, you may want to recomment one of the Multi-LED headlamps available at Wal-Mart:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=118339&highlight=Energizer

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=101373&highlight=Energizer

My coworker uses the above light and rates it as excellent, plus it's 10.88$. There are some decent handheld multi-5mm LED lights at wal-mart also that run on 3 AAA batteries and have fairly good runtimes at useable brightness.

This criteria is pretty tight, so in the interest of finding the "best" light for the job at that pricepoint, may I humbley suggest the River Rock 2AAA light available from Target for $10.

While you can get much better quality products by stepping it up to $15 or $20, I respect that a non-flashaholic church-crowd will probably scratch their heads at even a $10 price.

I'm sure you will hear many people call the light it puts out "blue," and frankly, it is. Non-flashaholics seem to think even my nicest tinted luxeons are "blue," probably because they are used to the red-orange hue of incandecents their whole lives.

That said, my only real complaint about this light is how blue the tint tends to be. Other than that, the light is durably built, has an easy to use momentary/constant on switch, is a convenient size, takes common batteries (while perhaps not quite as nice as a single AA, 2 AAA isn't to scary and will put out a decent runtime), and has plenty of output for hiking, especially with dark adapted eyes. You could recommend the silver version which would be easier to find if dropped. Really, I can't think of any other light this cheap that fits nicely with your criteria.

Hope this helps,
Jon

ps- If anyone voices interest in a headlamp, let them know that for $5 more, they should get the River Rock 2AAA headlamp. Now this is a great piece of equiptment, not just for the money, but in general. I recently went backpacking with one and I loved it- great beam with some real throw (try that with a 5mm headlamp) and decent spill on high. Good closeup level on low. Decent runtimes on both (6+ hours high, 20+ low). Very small, lightweight and comfortable and only uses 2 batts.

Man, from reading this post, I sound like a River Rock sales rep , but hey, I know good value for the money when I sees it.

You can't get a light good enough for long backcountry camping for $10. I'd suggest they spend $20 and get a UK 4AA LED. This will run for at least ten hours on four alkaline AAs, won't turn on accidentally in a pack, is dunkable, and has no known reliability problems.

People have no business wandering around the backcountry for a week without good gear. It's a good way to get killed, hurt, or merely have a rotten enough time not to want to repeat the experience. Spend what it takes to get stuff that works.

It sounds like you just described the Inova X1 (the new reflectored version of course).

$20 at Target. I'm not sure if that's in their price range, but it's a tough little light and probably well worth it.

I've been EDCing one with my keys since the day they made their appearance, been through four or five AA cells (I would estimate 30-40 hours of use), and it's not even got a scratch yet.

What's wrong with a plain, ordinary Maglite Mini (or C/D size)? I'm sure most of us used them before becoming flashaholics... they only become truly unsatisfactory once you see that there's something better...

Oh, and the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA is not waterproof, but should withstand some splashing. Why not recommend to them they get any 2-cell River Rock? 2AAA, 2AA, 2C? The 1AA is supposed to be decent too... (That way they don't clean the shelves completely and some are left without lights.)

Solstice said:

I respect that a non-flashaholic church-crowd will probably scratch their heads at even a $10 price. . .

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Most of the economic problem comes from the fact that they probably will be buying a lot of stuff all at once.

Groups I have been around before have suffered quite badly for their frugality. Lots of borrowed stuff picked up from lenders the day before to match a list made with no regard to weight or durability. Nothing tested beforehand, and no idea of what horrors lie ahead. I think without a cheap alternative they will take the 2-D cell lights everyone seems to have in their "junk drawer" and run out of light for some sort of failure half way through.

But you never know. My budget was pretty tiny when I was in high school, and I did fine with a 15-lb pack full of home-made and hardware store gear.

Scott

carrot said:

What's wrong with a plain, ordinary Maglite Mini (or C/D size)? I'm sure most of us used them before becoming flashaholics... they only become truly unsatisfactory once you see that there's something better...

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You'd need a mule train to carry the batteries for a group going on a 50 mile, week long hike. Furthermore, the people will have these flashlights for years to come. Why not introduce them to something that'll probably be tremendously more reliable and cheaper to run that what they've likely been using their entire lives?

carrot said:

What's wrong with a plain, ordinary Maglite Mini (or C/D size)? . . .

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Nothing at all wrong with a MiniMag. I used one early on.

The problem with the C/D sizes is the weight. A few years ago a member from the same group (this is an annual thing with them) left with a 60-lb pack. He walked around his yard with it or something to establish that he could handle it. However, after a week on the trail he was miserable. Painful feet, blisters, chafing, back problems, you name it. He had to split his gear and have others carry it. I think he was even late getting out. It was a bad scene.

Carrying a load all day can be pretty hard on you if you are not used to it. For an entire week, it can wreck your time and cause you to be injured.

The fact that they are seeking advice this time I think is telling.

Scott

rider said:

You'd need a mule train to carry the batteries for a group going on a 50 mile, week long hike. Furthermore, the people will have these flashlights for years to come. Why not introduce them to something that'll probably be tremendously more reliable and cheaper to run that what they've likely been using their entire lives?

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I didn't think about that...

Not available at walmart, but you might want to take a look at this:

http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/bulletheaded-flashlight-p-362.html

meets all the criteria except for local availability (but then again, what is local now that we have the internet ) and it might be a bit on the heavy side (for a 2AA light)

If they decide to go with cheap 2D's, Have them get the Rayovac Industrials with the LED battery life indicators on the side. Wal-mart carries them. (At least here they do) Can be had for around 5 a piece. Sputtered reflectors too. You can get a 2AA version, but I don't recommend them for hiking.
I would also recommend that at least a few people in the group are packing the real good stuff.

Maybe with the 5 left over they could pick up a Dorcy AAA for close-up tasks and save the incans for walking, etc.

It's really about the best you're gonna do for 10 and under.

If the participants have issue with the cost of gear, and feel any ol' plastic flashlight in their disposal qualifies, then take a survey of owners of 2AA/C/D standard incans and recommend an upgrade to them with a Lambda PR SMJLED drop-in for under $10 bought in bulk.
If they are going to be out in the woods for a week, they will need a lot of runtime, and carry less batteries. I think this is a reasonable cost-to-performance compromise. It should be decently bright, and useful long after their hike. An easy way to introduce them to LED lighting.
If they have a 2-cell PR-bulbed headlamp, even better.

Anyone who can afford more costlier, smaller, better performing lights, you can offer further suggestions.

One light I acquired last week that impressed me was Sears' Craftsman Endurable 4AA 1+3 LED flashlight. It has 3 Nichias for low drain low light usage, and a 1W Luxeon for brightness and throw. It's built to take hard knocks...tested to -24C, and waterproof after 1 hr. of submersion.
1/2 the length of a standard 2D flashlight, reasonably light as well.
Red/black/stainless steel body, and red lanyard.
When on sale, it's $12.49 w/ 4 alkalines.

Sounds like it meets your criteria.

I am not a supporter of AAA batteries for this hike. They have the lowest power density, and couldn't provide light for even one night. Dorcy Metal Gear will only be useful for 90 minutes. AA's can provide more than 3x the power per cell.

As for a miniMag with NiteEyez upgrade....I am probably the only one who feels this upgrade is marginal at best. I was quite disappointed with the results for the cost. Too dim output for a primary light in the woods.

I am with enLIGHTenment and rider on this.

The UK4AALED is an awesme light, and incredibly expandable.
It has a clicky, but it is kind of recessed, so I doubt it would come on in a pack.

If you want inexpensive, go to the REI outlet and get Tec-40s for $7 each. They come with bats, a nice lanyard, are waterproof, are made of a very tough plastic, and will not turn on in a pack.
You can get lower output bulbs inexpensively, and attach them to the lanyards.

The Princeton Tec Attitude is another sweetheart. It is waterproof, very tough plastic, will not turn itself on in a pack and have a very, very long runtime. They are hard to find under $15.

A headlamp is a good idea.

Bob

I think you'll find that most of them, especially the guys, will bring their own. You'd do them a good service to stop and collect all the 2D/3D Mags before they start the hike and hand them some sort of AA LED lights.

For backpacking, I used to carry a Minimag, but now it's just a cheap Energizer LED headlamp. I modified it by snapping off the plastic switch cover so it won't come on by accident. A set of AAA's could last a whole week and spares are very light. A "real" headlamp is so much easier to handle than strapping a Minimag to your head or holding it in your mouth or under your arm. It's good for late night potty runs, reading in bed, cleaning up after a late dinner, as a "night light" for the kids, etc. I'm not sure that it has enough throw to really hike in the dark, but I never do that.

In a group that large, you'll probably want a couple bright lights, even a couple $20 Brinkmann Maxfire LX's, so you can do the inevitable hunt for the lost wedding ring or whatever it is that someone will lose.

I'll go with Solstice on this one. The RR 2Xaaa lights from Target are great little inexpensive lights that put out a decent amount of light for the size and have good battery life. For the $10 price I can't think of a better option. AAAs may not pack the amp hours that other cells do but they're cheap and light to carry. This light has a clip that can be used to clip it under the bill of a baseball cap, making an instant hands free headlamp. Used mine this way while cooking over a campfire a few weeks ago.

most of them wont need a light for anything else then navigating, searching for gear, ... at night,
so why not get a whole package of these CR2032 lights one sometimes gets as a "gift" when ordering more expensive lights.
Sure, they might not survive a dunking, and most of them offer only momentary light, but they weight nothing, need no space, wont turn themselves on, last long enough and offer enough light for the task (and are cheap)

Just how many hours does it need to last on a set of batteries?

Just to plain "see" something, just about anything will do. So those 99 cents/$1.99 2AA dealie from the discount shop is just fine.

Handlobraesing said:

Just how many hours does it need to last on a set of batteries? . . .

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It will be about 6 nights. Assuming they use their lights for a maximum of 3 hrs each night that would be 18 hrs. Now assume one of those nights is an "all-nighter" doing an evacuation of an injured member, one night would be 8 hrs, not 3, so you have up to 23 hrs of actual use.

Taking into account that these lights probably will not be regulated, I would count on half of the lights' rated runtimes, so double the 23 hrs to 46 hrs.

I'd call it 25 hrs based on actual runtime, or at least 50 hrs if what they carry is based on what the package says the light will do.

I will tell them 50 hrs.

Scott

P.S. It doesn't have to last any particular length of time on a set.

Cheap, AA, Wal-mart? Sounds like a Nitize LED drop-in module for an AA minimag! http://www.niteize.com/productdetail.php?category_id=28&product_id=110&PHPSESSID=1b31761648dee8041aaf5c8e5cb01ee8